Bill Belichick reiterates that Patriots' coaching staff, personnel department are separate entities

BOSTON -- For the entirety of the dynastic runs of the New England Patriots under Bill Belichick, it was commonly known -- if never explicitly stated -- that the head coach was also the general manager of the team. While Belichick has never carried the title of GM, he's always had complete control over the football operation, even when the likes of Scott Pioli or Nick Caserio was running the personnel department.

Yet based on the way Bill Belichick has talked about the personnel department this week, some are wondering if that has changed.

On Monday, when facing a number of questions about the looming trade deadline, Belichick made sure to state that there's a separation between the coaching staff and the personnel department.

"Oh yeah, there's no way I could possibly do that. I mean, coaching is a full-time job. Personnel is a full-time job," Belichick said on the radio on Monday. "At some point, they have to merge together and be on the same page and figure out what's best for the team. But you can't be a full-time personnel person and be a full-time coach. It's impossible."

A half-hour later, when speaking with New England media members on a video call, Belichick reiterated that coaching and personnel are separate entities.

"Personnel department handles the personnel. Coaching department handles coaching. We join together on a regular basis to talk about both. And if things come up that are applicable, then we act on them," he said. "So if we need something on the coaching end, we make the personnel department aware of that. If they see an opportunity that will help the team, then we talk about that. So that's the same way it's been ever since I've been here."

The trade deadline came and went on Tuesday without the Patriots doing anything. Players on expiring contracts like Josh Uche, Kyle Dugger, Mike Onwenu and Ezekiel Elliott remain on the Patriots' roster, as they forge ahead with the rest of their season with their 2-6 record.

So on Wednesday morning, Belichick again faced a number of questions about the trade deadline. Once again, he created a separation between the coaching department and the personnel department. Here's how the exchanges went:

Q: The trade deadline was yesterday, was it a busy day for you guys?

BB: Yeah, we're getting ready for Washington.

Q: Did you get close on anything?

BB: Spent time getting ready for Washington.

Q: You said you spent time getting ready for Washington yesterday. Is that just there wasn't much that sort of percolated on the trade front for you guys?

BB: Yeah again, we talked about this the other day, how the personnel department, coaching department, we talked about that last week. It's just another day of that.

Q: So there weren't even any decisions to make on your end?

BB: If there was anything to talk about, we talked about it. If there wasn't anything to talk about, then I worked on Washington. Personnel people worked on personnel things.

Q: Bill, I'm really not trying to beat a dead horse here but I just want to clarify. You mentioned the personnel department with the trade discussions, but you are part of the personnel department--

BB: Phil, like this is the same thing we've talked about. We've talked about this 50 times. If they have something that they think I need to know about, then we talk about it. If I have a personnel situation that I think they need to know about, I tell them about it, and then they look into it. It's the same thing I've said the last 50 times we've talked about this. We work together when there's something to work together on. When there isn't something to work together on, then I coach, they do personnel.

Q: I'm just trying to clarify, just because you make it sound like two different things but our understanding is you are--

BB: Yes, if there's something that we need to talk about, then we talk about it. And if there isn't something to talk about, we're not going to just sit there and stare at each other all day. Like, we both have other stuff to do -- not both, but like, their department, the coaching department, like there's other things going on. So we're not just gonna sit there and stare at each other and see if the phone's gonna ring or if there's gonna be some bulletin on the news or whatever. Like, we have stuff to do.

On the surface, it may seem like Belichick is separating himself from the personnel department. Considering the team is 2-6 and the roster has a clear deficiency in talent compared to the top teams in the league, such a strategy would be understandable.

But when reviewing Belichick's public comments from previous trade deadlines, this year's comments are almost verbatim duplicates.

In 2015, Belichick was asked a question after the deadline. He said: "I was concentrating on the Redskins. We met [Tuesday] morning and practiced, watched film, trying to get the team ready for Washington. [Director of player personnel Nick Caserio] is really the person that would be involved more in that area. Obviously, we would talk about something, but my focus was on the Redskins. That's what it's been on, that's what it is on."

A year prior, in 2014, Belichick said: "I wouldn't say it's all that hectic right now. We're focused on getting ready for Denver. Nick Caserio and his staff on the personnel end of it, if something comes along and it's something that we think would be worth considering, then we'd talk about it, but I wouldn't say that there's real heavy back and forth communication throughout the league on big trades. I'd be surprised if that took place on any team. It's just not that common this time of year. Could it happen? Yeah, there could be a couple trades. But it's a lot different than what it is at the end of training camp."

There's this quote from 2017: "If something comes up we'll look into it. Again, that's [not] really on the coaching side of it. The coaching staff – we're focused on the players coming in tomorrow, working on some things that we feel like we need to work on moving ahead and maybe new areas that we need to address and having a productive day with our players. Our personnel staff – Nick [Caserio] and his staff - are working on personnel. If there's something that comes up in that area then we'll address it. If there isn't then we won't."

In 2020, when asked about the deadline, Belichick said: "That is something that I'll check in with Nick [Caserio] on here this week I usually don't get too involved in that. The communication on that really goes through the personnel department with Nick and his staff. I would say that, generally speaking, the coaches are pretty involved in game preparations at this point in time until something becomes more of a realistic opportunity. So we'll see how that goes.

He also said this in 2020: "Again, like a lot of things in this general subject, there is a lot more talk than there is action. Nick [Caserio] has summarized generally what he feels is going on and there may be other avenues of information that we have from one source or another, or a conversation with myself or assistant coach or whoever, and we kind of put that together and determine the level of interest we'd have in talking to someone else or not."   

So really, while Belichick's commentary this year is under a microscope due to the team's on-field struggles, he is correct when he states -- with frustration -- that he's talked about the process 50 times. The look of the team and the results on Sundays have changed, but Belichick's answers about the trade deadline largely have not.